Cosmetics giant Maybelline markets Superstay 24 lipstick, which is supposed to be more comfortable, withstand heat and humidity, and go 24 hours without needing a transfer. Some customers decided that, despite the advertising, the lipstick did not last a full 24 hours without transfer; so they sued Maybelline claiming that it had violated various
consumer fraud
Consumer Fraud and Class Action Prohibitions – Lisk v Lumber One Wood Preserving LLC
By The Editors on
Posted in Motions Practice
Robert Lisk of Alabama was building a fence. So he bought some fence lumber from Lumber One. Three years later (he alleged) he discovered that his lumber was rotting prematurely. He filed a class action against Lumber One, asserting, among other claims, that it had violated Alabama’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act (the ADTPA).
Lumber One…
Reliance & Civil RICO – Rowe v. Bankers Life Ins. & Cas. Co.
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification
In Rowe v. Bankers Life & Cas. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43198 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 29, 2012), Estella Rowe, a senior citizen, bought an equity-indexed deferred annuity. After she did so, she learned that this particular kind of annuity (like most annuities) is not a very good investment. So she…
“Future Injury” versus “Fool Me Once” – McNair v. Synapse Group Inc.
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification
To get lawsuits into court and past preliminary motions, plaintiffs often have to argue some pretty stupid things. They have to argue that they did not know coffee is hot or that they trusted Google Maps directions over their own eyes. Sometimes, to get a class action that far, plaintiffs’ lawyers have to argue…
Misconceptions About Concepcion
By The Editors on
Posted in Strategy
Today, the United States Supreme Court hears oral argument in Concepcion v. AT&T, a case on appeal from the Ninth Circuit concerning whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempts states like California from requiring arbitration clauses to allow for classwide arbitration. (The venerable SCOTUSBlog has an excellent roundup of the issues and briefing.)
I’m not…
Ramirez v Dollar Phone Corp – Superiority Arguments
By The Editors on
Posted in Certification
Judge Jack Weinstein is no stranger to class actions; he has decided a number of them over the years. And while no one can deny his inventiveness, he has at times drawn criticism for his predisposition for finding judicial solutions to widespread social problems. Judge Weinstein’s reputation is part of what makes the case of…